NC Plans $94 Million Ag Lab in Raleigh

The North Carolina state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services plans to build a $94 million laboratory complex off Edwards Mill Road in Raleigh that will allow it to close and consolidate four aging lab buildings in the city. [Source: Raleigh News and Observer, September 1, 2016, by Richard Stradling]

The Agricultural Sciences Center will combine labs that test food and drugs and motor fuels, that detect animal diseases and that calibrate scales and other measurement devices into one 200,000-square-foot building. The old labs are 43 years old on average and are outdated, said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.

The money for the project will come from the Connect NC bonds that state voters approved in March. The building will take 18 months to design and won’t be completed until late 2020, Troxler said.

About 200 people will work in the center, which will be adjacent to the offices and labs of the department’s Agronomic Division on Reedy Creek Road.

The new building will be more energy efficient and designed so it can be adapted to changes in science and technology, Troxler said. The existing labs were built when most lab work was done using chemical solutions. They have been difficult to retrofit for more sophisticated methods and machinery.

Troxler described many of the functions of the labs, which serve not only the agriculture industry but also consumers. The food and drug lab, for example, found a strain of bacteria in frozen corn that prompted a recall from grocery stores in 15 states last month.

“We are the first line of defense in recognizing diseases that affect people and animals,” he said.

Source: AASV